The Federal Network Agency has banned gas.de Versorgungsgesellschaft mbH from operating as an energy supplier for household customers due to non-compliance with legal rules ensuring a safe and consumer-friendly energy supply. Gas.de had already stopped supplying household customers at the end of 2021 and reported this to the Federal Network Agency. However, in the spring of this year, the company expressed its intention to resume operations as an energy supplier. As a result, the regulatory authority initiated proceedings based on initial suspicions of a violation of the Energy Industry Act. This act allows the Federal Network Agency to prohibit companies from operating if they are deemed insufficiently efficient or unreliable.
Consumer advocates are raising concerns as Gas.de is a sister company of Stromio, which ceased supplying electricity in December 2021. Stromio justified its decision based on an “unprecedented price explosion on the European energy trading centers.” In response, the Hesse consumer advice center filed a model declaratory action against Stromio in May 2022. The lawsuit register opened at the Federal Office of Justice a year ago and remains accessible to interested parties.
Klaus Müller, President of the Federal Network Agency, emphasized the importance of ensuring that energy suppliers meet legal requirements in order to protect consumers. He stated, “An energy supplier who does not meet the requirements of the law may not be active on the German energy market.”
